New Century Version NCV
Good News Translation GNT
1 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying:
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The Lord spoke to me.
2 "Human, prophesy against the leaders of Israel, who are like shepherds. Prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Lord God says: How terrible it will be for the shepherds of Israel who feed only themselves! Why don't the shepherds feed the flock?
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"Mortal man," he said, "denounce the rulers of Israel. Prophesy to them, and tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, say to them: You are doomed, you shepherds of Israel! You take care of yourselves, but never tend the sheep.
3 You eat the milk curds, and you clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill the fat sheep, but you do not feed the flock.
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You drink the milk, wear clothes made from the wool, and kill and eat the finest sheep. But you never tend the sheep.
4 You have not made the weak strong. You have not healed the sick or put bandages on those that were hurt. You have not brought back those who strayed away or searched for the lost. But you have ruled the sheep with cruel force.
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You have not taken care of the weak ones, healed the ones that are sick, bandaged the ones that are hurt, brought back the ones that wandered off, or looked for the ones that were lost. Instead, you treated them cruelly.
5 The sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for every wild animal.
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Because the sheep had no shepherd, they were scattered, and wild animals killed and ate them.
6 My flock wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered all over the face of the earth, and no one searched or looked for them.
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So my sheep wandered over the high hills and the mountains. They were scattered over the face of the earth, and no one looked for them or tried to find them.
7 "'So, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord God says:
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"Now, you shepherds, listen to what I, the Lord, am telling you.
8 As surely as I live, my flock has been caught and eaten by all the wild animals, because the flock has no shepherd. The shepherds did not search for my flock. No, they fed themselves instead of my flock.
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As surely as I am the living God, you had better listen to me. My sheep have been attacked by wild animals that killed and ate them because there was no shepherd. My shepherds did not try to find the sheep. They were taking care of themselves and not the sheep.
9 So, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord.
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So listen to me, you shepherds.
10 This is what the Lord God says: I am against the shepherds. I will blame them for what has happened to my sheep and will not let them tend the flock anymore. Then the shepherds will stop feeding themselves, and I will take my flock from their mouths so they will no longer be their food.
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I, the Sovereign Lord, declare that I am your enemy. I will take my sheep away from you and never again let you be their shepherds; never again will I let you take care only of yourselves. I will rescue my sheep from you and not let you eat them.
11 "'This is what the Lord God says: I, myself, will search for my sheep and take care of them.
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"I, the Sovereign Lord, tell you that I myself will look for my sheep and take care of them
12 As a shepherd takes care of his scattered flock when it is found, I will take care of my sheep. I will save them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.
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in the same way as shepherds take care of their sheep that were scattered and are brought together again. I will bring them back from all the places where they were scattered on that dark, disastrous day.
13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries. I will bring them to their own land and pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the places where people live in the land.
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I will take them out of foreign countries, gather them together, and bring them back to their own land. I will lead them back to the mountains and the streams of Israel and will feed them in pleasant pastures.
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and they will eat grass on the high mountains of Israel. They will lie down on good ground where they eat grass, and they will eat in rich grassland on the mountains of Israel.
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I will let them graze in safety in the mountain meadows and the valleys and in all the green pastures of the land of Israel.
15 I will feed my flock and lead them to rest, says the Lord God.
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I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will find them a place to rest. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.
16 I will search for the lost, bring back those that strayed away, put bandages on those that were hurt, and make the weak strong. But I will destroy those sheep that are fat and strong. I will tend the sheep with fairness.
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"I will look for those that are lost, bring back those that wander off, bandage those that are hurt, and heal those that are sick; but those that are fat and strong I will destroy, because I am a shepherd who does what is right.
17 "'This is what the Lord God says: As for you, my flock, I will judge between one sheep and another, between the male sheep and the male goats.
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"Now then, my flock, I, the Sovereign Lord, tell you that I will judge each of you and separate the good from the bad, the sheep from the goats.
18 Is it not enough for you to eat grass in the good land? Must you crush the rest of the grass with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you make the rest of the water muddy with your feet?
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Some of you are not satisfied with eating the best grass; you even trample down what you don't eat! You drink the clear water and muddy what you don't drink!
19 Must my flock eat what you crush, and must they drink what you make muddy with your feet?
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My other sheep have to eat the grass you trample down and drink the water you muddy.
20 "'So this is what the Lord God says to them: I, myself, will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep.
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"So now, I, the Sovereign Lord, tell you that I will judge between you strong sheep and the weak sheep.
21 You push with your side and with your shoulder, and you knock down all the weak sheep with your horns until you have forced them away.
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You pushed the sick ones aside and butted them away from the flock.
22 So I will save my flock; they will not be hurt anymore. I will judge between one sheep and another.
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But I will rescue my sheep and not let them be mistreated any more. I will judge each of my sheep and separate the good from the bad.
23 Then I will put over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and tend them and be their shepherd.
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I will give them a king like my servant David to be their one shepherd, and he will take care of them.
24 Then I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be a ruler among them. I, the Lord, have spoken.
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I, the Lord, will be their God, and a king like my servant David will be their ruler. I have spoken.
25 "'I will make an agreement of peace with my sheep and will remove harmful animals from the land. Then the sheep will live safely in the desert and sleep in the woods.
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I will make a covenant with them that guarantees their security. I will get rid of all the dangerous animals in the land, so that my sheep can live safely in the fields and sleep in the forests.
26 I will bless them and let them live around my hill. I will cause the rains to come when it is time; there will be showers to bless them.
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"I will bless them and let them live around my sacred hill. There I will bless them with showers of rain when they need it.
27 Also the trees in the countryside will give their fruit, and the land will give its harvest. And the sheep will be safe on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I break the bars of their captivity and save them from the power of those who made them slaves.
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The trees will bear fruit, the fields will produce crops, and everyone will live in safety on his own land. When I break my people's chains and set them free from those who made them slaves, then they will know that I am the Lord.
28 They will not be led captive by the nations again. The wild animals will not eat them, but they will live safely, and no one will make them afraid.
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The heathen nations will not plunder them any more, and the wild animals will not kill and eat them. They will live in safety, and no one will terrify them.
29 I will give them a place famous for its good crops, so they will no longer suffer from hunger in the land. They will not suffer the insults of other nations anymore.
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I will give them fertile fields and put an end to hunger in the land. The other nations will not sneer at them any more.
30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them. The nation of Israel will know that they are my people, says the Lord God.
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Everyone will know that I protect Israel and that they are my people. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.
31 You, my human sheep, are the sheep I care for, and I am your God, says the Lord God.'"
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"You, my sheep, the flock that I feed, are my people, and I am your God," says the Sovereign Lord.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.